The disclosed technique relates to automatic liquid dispensers. In general, liquid dispensers are installed on refrigerators and water purifiers to allow a user to readily extract liquid stored therein. Particularly, liquid dispensers mounted on refrigerators are so designed as to allow a user to extract liquid therethrough from outside without recourse to opening of a door of the refrigerators.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a liquid dispenser is mounted on a refrigerator according to prior art. A door 110 of a refrigerator 100 is frontally mounted with a liquid dispenser 120.
The liquid dispenser 120 is disposed with a receptacle accommodator 130, and a liquid ejecting key (not shown) for ejecting the liquid is installed inside the liquid dispenser 120. When a user inserts a receptacle 140 into the receptacle accommodator 130 of the liquid dispenser 120 mounted on the front surface of a door 110 of the refrigerator 100, and presses the liquid ejecting key, the liquid may be ejected into the receptacle 140 only during a time the liquid ejecting key is depressed.
If a liquid dispenser is mounted on a refrigerator, there is no need of opening a door of the refrigerator, such that coolness inside the refrigerator may not be leaked outside to thereby reduce power consumption of the refrigerator, and to further lengthen or maintain the freshness of foods stored inside the refrigerator.
Development of automatically dispensed liquid dispensers has been recently attempted, largely with a view to providing a user convenience.